CHAPTER 1

Lisa was staring out the window of her science classas usual. Just looking up at the moon, still very visible in thebrightening morning sky. She always did love the way it just sat upthere in the mornings, as though it were sleeping. Then when nightcame, it would awaken with its bright white light. She felt a littlelike the moon at the moment. Tired and not as bright.Someone poked her shoulder and passed a note underneath whereher elbow touched the table. She used her elbow to push it onto herlap quickly before the teacher saw. When the teacher turned backtoward the blackboard Lisa quickly unraveled the note and readsilently.

"Meet me at my locker after class. Got something to tellyou."

-D

* * *

"You're moving?" She forgot they were standing in themiddle of the hallway and suddenly noticed all the weird stareseveryone was giving her as they walked by.

So what? Let them look. It's none of their business anyway. Rightnow she was too upset to really care about what was going onaround them.

"Mom said after this year is over. She at least wants me tofinish high school." He wasn't looking at her, but she could stillhear the hurt and anger in his voice.

Lisa didn't know if she should be relieved his mother was givinghim more time or angry because she might be doing it on purpose.Lisa was going for the latter. When it came to her and Decker'srelationship, that woman was always right there to remind themthat she wouldn't make it easy. And here Lisa thought that wassupposed to be her parent's job.

"Where?" She asked him then, hoping he would saysomewhere in driving distance, or closer. But she caught hishesitation before he answered and braced herself. "Florida." Helooked down.

Her chest constricted. She turned quickly and startedwalking away, anywhere away from where they were, in themiddle of all these curious eyes. She didn't get far enough awayfrom the crowd when the tears started streaming down her face.Good thing they clouded her vision too because she couldn't standto see the looks on everyone's faces as she ran passed them. Theywere probably wondering what was wrong with her or something.How embarrassing. And with Decker chasing her, they're probablythinking they just had a fight. If only that was all it really was ...She wouldn't want to have to look at those faces the next day inschool and remember the looks they gave her while she ran downthe hall crying. So much for the plan of being inconspicuous atschool ...

He grabbed her wrist and spun her around to meet him. Shewanted to protest that they weren't far enough away yet, when hequickly grabbed his shades from his back jeans pocket and slippedthem over her eyes.

It hadn't registered in her mind what he did until he started pullingher toward the empty hallway just around the next corner. Theydidn't run this time, because she didn't have to, Lisa noticed.

Nobody was staring now.

Finally they rounded the corner to the long narrow hallway wherenobody really passed through.

Decker pulled her into his arms tightly and let his head fall downon her shoulder.

"Lisa ..." She heard his voice break. Forgetting what she wassupposed to be upset about, she wrapped her arms around him.

* * *

On the bus ride home, Lisa sat with Decker in the back.They held each other. Hands entwined. She inched closer so shecould lean her head against his chest. She would've closed her eyesand just lay there, her mind soothed by the sound of his heartbeat,all other sounds a dull murmur, when he kissed the top of herforehead and said, "I'm not gonna be there forever."

She's been telling herself that too. Anything to relieve herof the pain that was tearing at her heart. But how long could shereally go without him?

"I swear I'll come back to you, love. I promise.""You're not there yet." She said, trying to push it from her mind.They didn't need to think about it now, or talk about it. They stillhad time ...

Adam poked his head up from behind the seat in front oftheirs when the bus came to a stop. Him and Decker clapped handstogether like they usually did and Adam got off.She looked out and waved at him through the bus window, and hewaved back. His face was sad, but accepting.

Decker rested his head on top of hers for the rest of the ride home.She tried to pretend this was them leaving ... this was the two ofthem going somewhere far away.

* * *

Almost every night Lisa and her mom would sit in herparent's bedroom and watch late night news channels. Mom wasa big fan of crime news. She said she once thought about being aninvestigator, like solving crimes and mysteries and stuff like that.Lisa wasn't really big about the crime genre, especially when itincluded decapitated heads and dead children, but it was fun to sitand listen to the people on the live news shows go at each other'sthroats with different opinions. It was more like drama than crime.

"So, anything new happen in school?" Her mom asked, notlooking up from her handheld puzzle game. That was another thingmom loved, way more than the news. Video games.

"Nothing really. Oh, well besides Decker moving to Florida innine months." Lisa felt like she wanted to slap herself for soundingso casual about it. But she knew the more she dwelled on it theworse the pain would get. And she didn't feel like crying in frontof her mother because she would probably think Lisa was beingoverdramatic. And Lisa might believe her.

"He's moving?" Mom sounded shocked. "To Florida?""Yep." It was apparent that Lisa was angry about it, but hopefullythat was the only thing that was apparent.

"What made them decide to up and move again?"Lisa didn't know, but she believed it had something to do with hismother not liking Lisa one bit. When Decker's family moved hereseven years ago from Philidelphia, it turned out to be a much moredifferent scene here than over in the bustling city.

Decker had never been allowed to leave the house whenhe was little, not even to ride his trike out on the sidewalk. Hismother's paranoia over keeping her son safe had her believing thewhole world was dangerous. He told her the straw that broke thecamel's back was when he was five and his mother actually lethim go out front for a few minutes to kick his soccer ball around.Suddenly bullets started flying past his little head and his motherwas screaming from the front door for him to come back inside.So when they moved here to New Jersey and Decker startedmaking new friends, his mother became a lunatic about his safety.Eventually he met Lisa and didn't even bother begging his momto go outside anymore, he would just walk out. His mother blamedLisa for Decker's "strange behavior." And at first, Lisa tried tounderstand. Any good mother would want their child to be safe. Itwasn't until Lisa saw for herself that Decker's home life was a lotmore complicated than she first thought ...

"Well maybe it's for the best Lisa. Maybe his father willhelp him out a little and get him on his feet ..."

Lisa didn't believe that for one second.

Decker's father left when Decker was only an infant, so he neverhad that kind of male role model to follow by. His mother wassixteen when she had him. Their relationship took a crashing soonafter, and his father promised he would never bother her again aslong as she stayed away from him and his family. This was justafter the crazy woman smeared peanut butter all over his truckand the guy almost died from an allergic reaction. Lisa never metDecker's...